1. Technical Field
The present invention is directed toward a method of making a metal component requiring precise shaping and durability on one side, and more particularly toward a method of making tool dies.
2. Background Art
Tool dies are commonly used for stamping and punching operations to create generally flat materials in specific shapes. For example, gaskets which are widely used in a variety of places, and having a variety of designs, are commonly formed in this manner.
Typically, such tool dies are formed from plates of expensive tool steel in order to provide a desired durability including resistance to wear and cracking. Once a tool die order and specifications are received from a customer, the plate of tool steel is typically machined in a variety of ways as preliminary steps to forming the tool die. The machined plate is then sent out for hardening to give it the strength required of the tool die. Given the time of heat treating for hardening, as well as transport time and general delay in getting the heat treatment scheduled, the hardening process can itself require a day in the manufacturing time of the tool die. Once the hardened plate is received back from the heat treater, further machining is then done on the plate to place it in its final precise designed configuration. Such machining is relatively expensive and time consuming, however, due to the fact that such machining is then being done on a hardened material.
A fast turn around time in creating a tool die is naturally a positive factor in relations with a customer for such tool die. Beyond the image of responsiveness, however, fast turn around can have significant cost advantages. For example, if a customer has a tool die break and has to shut down a tool until a new tool die is received, the losses associated with such down time are real costs. Tool operators may attempt to maintain backup tool dies for use during scheduled down time such as maintenance on a tool die, but unexpected problems with breaking concurrent with scheduled maintenance may still necessitate down time where enough backup tool dies are not maintained, or may require that they keep more costly backup dies available than generally required to avoid such hazards.
Further, the designer of a tool die is often required to make a difficult choice of materials, weighing the desirability of highly durable tool steel (and the related reduction in down time due to less frequent required maintenance) against the high cost of top grade tool steel.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.